Carrier and submarine tube for gathering oysters and the like.



' W. R. MITCHELL. CARRIER AND SUBMARINE TUBE FOR GATHERING OYSTERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION II'LED SEPT. 19, 1911.

1,048,194. Patented De0.24,1912.

16 3 7 v v 18 v b 1' L10 i v 10 v 2o Jj7l2u V f 1a 52f 55 I v 9 424 A21 A I j \5 I l: 3,1 9 33 qxm k avweufo'c UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE.

.WILLIAM n. MITCHELL, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CARRIER AND SUI BMARINE TUBE FOR GATHERING OYSTERS AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

Application filed September 19, 1911. Serial No. 650,131.

To all 1071,0717 may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. 'MITGHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in .Carriers and Submarine Tubes for Gathering Oysters and about and observe thecharacter ofthe ground surface immediately beneath and alsothat without the working space. 20

It is a particular objectto provide means for handling a bell or caisson element with facility and by the aid of simple apparatus, operable either by hand or mechanical power.

Another important the caisson element upon a vessel that it will be liablein a minimum degree to be displaced by currents'of water, swells upon the surface of the water and other factors.

An important use to which it is desired to adaptthis device is that of gathering oysters, enabling two or three men to operate theapparatus and perform the work neces sary. At present the oyster is obtained by dredging, and the result of the operation is more or less uncertain on account of the impossibility of observing thecharacter of the bottom, and because'of difficulty in operating dredging apparatus, as well as the.

amount of time required for accomplishing a given amount of work.

The device will also be useful for pearl fishing, gold prospecting and min'ing, inspectionof river and ocean bottoms and other uses, some of which will be indicated in the following description and drawings, in which latter- I Figure 1' is a plan'of a vessel and apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2is a vertical longitudinal sect-ion through the vessel.

There is illustrated a vessel hull 10' of any suitableconstruction having a deck 11 and provided with a circular 'well .12 extending vertically therethrough, opening. through the deck and bottom of the hull, and located object is to so mount men.

at any desirable point in the vessel, but preferably near the middle.

Vertically disposed and freely movable in this bottomless well, and engaged snugly therein in a suitable manner against loose movement, there is a bottomless tube 13 of steel or other suitable material, closed at its top by a suitable large window 14: and bein of a-suitable length to extend above and below the vessel, a suitable distance. .The tube is. provided at each side with a rack 15, and pinions l6 suit-ably mounted on the deck rotation-of which gears the tube is moved vertically, suitable connection 16' being provided between the gears and a motor 16 located at a suitable point on the vessel, although 1t will of coursebe apparent that a familiar hand operated mechanism could be substituted therefor. A dog or other device at 17 may be engaged with the gears to lock themagainst movement at any point, so that the tube may be fixed rigidly with respect to the vessel when desired.

A suitable airtight door 18 is provided in the side of and near the top of the tube through which access and egress may be en'ected to and from the'tube directly from and to the body of the vessel. A floor 19' is provided in the tube just below the door 18, stopping short of the opposite side of the tube to permit the passage of persons and material to and from the lower part of the tube, a ladder 20 being attached to the adjacent side of the tube for the use of work- .Windows 21 are built in the tube near its lower end permitting observation, and access of light. Compressed air may be supplied to the tube from a tank 22, on the vessel connected with a compressor '23 operated by the motor, although-a hand operated compressor may be used in the absence of the motor.

The connection between the tank and tube may be in the formof a hollow revoluble drum 24, axial air connections between which and the tank are provided and a tube 25 w'ound thereon in communication (with the interior of the drum atone end, and at its other led into the tube by means of a pipe 26 having a valve 27 withinthe tube controlled by-a line 28 pendant therefrom the lower end being convenient to the hand of a workman at the lower end of the tube.

The valve is preferably adapted to feed air constantly to the tube at a proper rate, when -ll engage the racks respectively, through i opened initially, and by means of the line 28 the flow may be increased at will. By means of the drum 24 also, electric wiring may be led into the tube to supply lights as at 29. In the event that a motor 16 is used on the vessel current may be generated by a dynamo as at 30. It is of course obvious that aclutch must be, interposed between the connections for the compressor and dynamo and those for raising and lowering the tube, as at 31.

Adjacent the lower end of the tube, a suit able door 32 is provided, which may be closed watertight at times to prevent water from rising in the tube when the air pressure is relieved, the door then serving as a floor. Windows 21 may be located in the tube above the floor whereby the device may be utilized as a comfortable means for submarine observation.

A pulley 34 is mounted in the'tube adjacent its upper end from which is supported the line 35 carrying a suitable receptacle 36 at one end and connected at its other end to the hoisting drum 37 r A suitable bolt 38 of considerable length is mounted slidably on the side of the tube for projection therebelo-w, to be used occasionally as will be indicated. Means should be provided to retain vthe bolt in retracted position normally.

In use, the tube is lowered to bring its lower end into proximity with the bottom of the river or ocean in which operations are to be conducted, air under pressure sufficient to maintain the water at the lower end of the tube being admitted. The workmen then enter, descending into what water remains over the bottom under the tube, and by bearing against the tube it, together with the vessel, may be moved by the workman over the bottom in any desired direction until it is in position for the performance of the work in view, when by shooting the bolt 38 against the bottom the device will be held in place, the tube and vessel 10 being both held, and the tube made to serve the function. of an anchorage device for the vessel in addition to those of the usual caisson. Should there be a considerable swell on the surface of the water causing the vessel to rock unduly, the reciprocating mechanism may be operated to force the tube downward until engaged firmly in the bed A, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, partly supporting the vessel which will thereby be prevented from rocking to such extent as would interfere with work in the tube.

By means of the bucket and drum 3G and 37 any material to be raised and removed fro-111 the tube may be hoisted and deposited on the floor 19, from whence it may be shoveled at such intervals as are desirable.

A bench 40 is provided at one side of the tube at or near the bottom thereof, upon which the workman may stand when necessary, as for instance when it is desired to move the tube by power applied to the vessel 10, which may be self propelled if desired.

In this way oysters may be gathered by means of an ordinary hand shovel or fork, with which they may be deposited in the bucket 36 or the like, or other hoisting means, and raised. As the workman can we readily how the material to be gathered is disposed his movements may be directed with great efficiency.

What is claimed is:

A device of the class described compris ing a buoyant vessel, a caisson tube adapted to be sealed at its upper end and mounted on the vessel for vertical movement, means for holding the vessel and tube in rigid rela tion at times, means for moving the tube vertically on the'vessel, means for supplying compressed air thereto, a storage device within the tube, means for anchoring the device on a bottom, and means for introducing excavated material in to the storage device, whereby oysters or the like maybe dredged and stored within the tube conveniently for removal in bulk.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM R. MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

DAVID Ro'rHsomLn, H. L. WOODWARD. 

